I was given grow lights - what should I grow?

September 22, 2009 7:57 PM

I was given grow lights - what should I grow?

A friend recently gave me three different grow lights. I have a 400w metal halide, a 250w high-pressure sodium, and some sort of special fluorescent thingamajigger. I'm going to mount one of them above a 3'x3' table in my living room for an indoor garden.

What (legal) plants would be really neat to grow over the winter? I'm thinking especially of edible plants, but am certainly willing to consider others. I already have quite a few house plants, but I'd love to work on something a bit different or useful.

I'm not sure that it matters, but I live in Winnipeg which has pretty brutal winters. I also live in an apartment.

For a start, I'm thinking of growing peppers to play around with my own hot sauce.

posted by iftheaccidentwill to home & garden (17 comments total)

Herbs! It's really, really nice (and cost-effective) to have constant access to a few sprigs of basil, thyme, parsley, mint...
posted by kestrel251 at 8:03 PM on September 22

Strawberries? You could fit quite a few plants in tiered plots, and they would be nice to have in the middle of winter.
posted by fearthehat at 8:06 PM on September 22

Seconded; fresh herbs and peppers are fantastic. But if you're running those lights all winter, be prepared for a significant electrical bill and a knock on the door from the local constabulary.
posted by mhoye at 8:08 PM on September 22 [2 favorites has favorites]

Agreed with mhoye. At least if you're in the US.
posted by dfriedman at 8:20 PM on September 22

Just to clarify, running any one of these lights won't be particularly expensive, and is very unlikely to cause any sort of police visit where I live. Even if it did, a bunch of herbs or tomatoes shouldn't offend too many people!
posted by iftheaccidentwill at 8:28 PM on September 22 [3 favorites has favorites]

well, depending on what state you live in, growing the herb commonly known as marijuana may just be legal - and extremely lucrative. In Oregon you can get a medicinal growers license and start a little profitable business for yourself. Just a thought.
posted by Lutoslawski at 8:43 PM on September 22 [2 favorites has favorites]

oops...you said you live in Winnepeg; not sure about the laws there, sorry - disregard.
posted by Lutoslawski at 8:44 PM on September 22

BC is just a few provinces away and you can order all sorts of seeds for psychoactive plants from this site http://www.vancouverseedbank.ca/catalog/
posted by PowerCat at 8:58 PM on September 22 [1 favorite has favorites]

I used one to keep hibiscus, violets and abutilons blooming through last winter, and it was really nice to have live flowers in the house.
posted by bunji at 9:53 PM on September 22

How deep will you make the bed? A lot of plants that want that much light will need more than a few inches of soil to grow in.
posted by sanko at 10:38 PM on September 22

I don't know what you're paying for power, but at what I pay (USD 0.10/kwh), it would cost USD 30.00 a month to run the 400w light.
posted by hwyengr at 11:46 PM on September 22

The light will put out a lot of heat, which will offset the heating bill. So the OP will not really be USD 30 out each month.

And seconding herbs.
posted by Harald74 at 12:15 AM on September 23

Basil.
posted by Tixylix at 12:46 AM on September 23

Cilantro - when I was starting seedlings indoors this spring it performed really well under the lights in my slightly chilly basement. Better than anything else in fact.
posted by Gortuk at 6:00 AM on September 23

Not edible, but I really enjoy my miniature violets. They take very little care (I water/feed twice a week) and they love being under grow lights. You can take them out and put them all around your house while they're blooming (and if you're more attentive than I am, they should bloom continuously). I've had the most luck with the Kitten Caboodle.
posted by fiercecupcake at 6:38 AM on September 23

Flowers, at least a couple, to go along with the herbs and veggies maybe. Something that continuously blooms for a bit. Will blast you out of those winter doldrums.
posted by jerseygirl at 7:23 AM on September 23

I would wholeheartedly recommend tomatoes. Among all the vegetables, they are probably the one where the difference in flavor between grocery store stuff and The Good Stuff is biggest. Tomatoes in-store are almost all bred for uniformity of appearance and long shelf life, at the expense of flavor. Heirloom tomatoes are often lumpy, and might not stand shipping from Brazil, but they are so damn tasty. Here are some varieties you might want to look into:

Paul Robeson
Cherokee Purple
Marianna's Peace
Coyote

Just make sure your container is big enough.
posted by Earl the Polliwog at 5:39 PM on September 23